Hundreds gather for emotional Sparks Middle School vigil

Oct. 26, 2013

Mourners gather Friday evening on the peninsula at the Sparks Marina for a vigil in honor of the victims of Monday's shooting at Sparks Middle School. Teacher Michael Landsberry died and two students were injured in the shooting. / Tom R. Smedes/Special to RGJ

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On RGJ.com

Log on to RGJ.com/schoolshooting for extensive coverage of the shooting at Sparks Middle School, including: • Photos and videos from the scene and memorials, including Friday’s vigil. • Audio of 911 calls from Sparks Middle School. • Updates from today’s developments.

Memorial and
public viewing
set for slain teacher

A memorial for Michael Landsberry, the Sparks Middle School math teacher killed in the shooting on Monday, has been set for Sunday, Nov. 3, with a viewing scheduled for Nov. 2. 6A

Friend describes
shooter as typical kid

The Nevada middle school student who killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before turning the gun on himself appeared to be a typical 12-year-old who liked soccer, was good at video games and didn’t have a lot of friends but “didn’t seem to be a loner,” a friend said Friday. 6A

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Speaking through tears and cracked voices, three Sparks Middle School teachers remembered their fallen friend and colleague at a candlelight vigil on Friday night as a “big ball of compassion” who was there for his family, his country and especially for his students.

“It’s beautifully apparent how much we love Michael Landsberry,” social studies teacher David Clark told the hundreds who gathered at the Sparks Marina to honor the victims of Monday’s shooting. But what’s also apparent, he said, “was the love Michael Landsberry had for all of us.”

Landsberry approached 12-year-old Jose Reyes and tried to get him to drop his gun, but instead Reyes fatally shot the teacher and injured two students before killing himself on Monday.

Also speaking to the crowd of students and community members was Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini, Sparks City Council member Ed Lawson and Washoe County School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez.

Few were able to make it through their statements without pausing to gather their emotions.

“Michael Landsberry was my closest friend for about 15 years,” said teacher Jerry Miller. “His passing has created a big hole in my life and I don’t know how to fill that hole.”

Landsberry, a tall man with a shaved head and a goatee, did not look “like a relationship kind of guy,” Miller said. “But inside, he was a big ball of compassion. And his students got it. They knew Michael Landsberry was there for them.”

“Remember, we’re here for the kids,” Miller said his friend always told him. “And on Monday that was the first thing I thought of. He was there for the kids, and thank goodness.”

As the sun went down and the air temperature dropped, many of the students at the vigil wrapped themselves in blankets donated from volunteers from Project Linus. A group of women in Fernley made about 700 blankets to distribute to the middle school students to serve as comfort in their distress.

Math teacher Ben Tucker said Landsberry was a hero who “is truly and forever will be a man we should all aspire to be.”

“He wanted to make a difference in his kids’ lives,” Tucker said. “I miss you my friend. I love you, Batman.”

Cortez Masto said as Nevada’s top law enforcement officer, she has heard from her peers from across the county, who have reached out and offered support and condolences.

Cortez Masto said that she was proud of the way the community, the first responders, the school personnel have pulled together in the face of the tragedy.

Sparks City Manager Shaun Carey said what happened Monday was violence, but what was happening at Sparks Marina was love.

“Violence cannot win when we believe in love,” he said.

Mayor Martini sought to assure the students attending the vigil that their pain will pass, but their support for each other will make the difference.

“Sometimes bad things happen,” he said. “Goodness and love will trump these terrible events that many of you will never forget. Don’t let evil distract you or slow you down.”